Healing Old Wounds
by ToryV
Summary: Faith and Buffy grow closer while trying to rehabilitate a new slayer. F/B
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back! New house, new school and new LAPTOP!! Not a half working POS computer that will constantly shut off whilst in use. And lots of new fluffy fuffy ideas for Mimic and other one shots i have in mind to go with it (thanks to my girlfriend who constantly asks why i write depressing shit all the time...sorry baby...) So anyways...expect new updates soon! **

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: Don't own BTVS.**

Prologue:

"Willow are you positive-"

"I told you Giles I saw someone. It was very vague but…someone is trapped in a hell dimension. I don't know how or why but I think it's a slayer." Willow cut Giles off in a hurried state. The witch rushed around her room gathering herbs and books, preparing for the spell that was about to be performed.

"Willow, we must think logically before attempting to do something of this magnitude. Your speaking of opening a hell dimension, risking letting something out based on what? A dream?" Giles stood in front of the redhead attempting to halt her movement. Willow easily pushed him aside and scoffed.

"Giles this isn't just some little nightmare alright? I _felt_ her…I felt all the pain and the power and everything. She has been stuck there for goddess knows how long Giles. We can't just leave someone in-in hell!"

Giles took his glasses off and cleaned them slowly, carefully choosing his next words. The old watcher strode over to Willow and placed a hand over hers, halting the witch from her frantic flipping through an old looking spell book.

"What then, Willow? If you open this hell and actually are able to pull this girl through, what then? You don't know how long she has been in there, how much torture she has endured, nothing. What if you pull a crazed being through? A feral slayer is a liability that I cannot release into this house. Not when we have only just begun to train the other slayers. It is not safe Willow."

Willow looked up at Giles with her patented 'resolve face'. At that moment, he knew there was no stopping the determined redhead.

"Giles…this…this _kid_ is suffering. I will _not_ stand by and ignore that…I just can't ok? I'll handle her if things get out of control. I've almost ended the world once; I think I can chain a newbie slayer to the wall if she comes back all bad and moody." The witch added trying to lighten things up a little. After a minute of staring at Willow with a stern expression plastered on his face Giles nodded intently, backing away to let the witch work her magic. Willow skimmed the pages of the old book she was looking at and gave a small smile. Wordlessly the redhead lit a few candles and threw handfuls of colorful herbs onto the floor before her. Giles watched the witch quiet prep work, not able to repress the small glimmer of pride that welled up in his chest at watching Willow work with such skill. The quiet schoolgirl he once knew had grown up into the most powerful witch in the western hemisphere.

"Um Giles…just in case…like you said…" Willow handed Giles a small tranq gun and shackles, not bothering to finish her sentence. Giles already knew what she meant.

"Ok…here goes."

Willow stood up straighter before the chalk outline she had drawn on the floor, the herbs scattered around in the middle. Silently the witch waved her hand over the circle, feeling the dark energy that began to emit in waves off the drawing. Almost instantly the outline on the floor glowed a dark maroon, the herbs Willow had placed in the circle before hand rose into the air, as if stuck in a dust devil they began to swirl around in a circle almost violently. Willow struggled to keep her hand over the circle; sweat began to form on the witch's forehead as she grunted in concentration. Giles continued to watch the ritual in awe, the familiar knot of worry forming in his stomach watching as Willow's red hair slowly took on darker shades.

"Willow if this is too much for you stop-"

"Shut up. I-I'm ok…just….just looking for her essence…so…much pain. Al-almost…wait….there it is"

With a small wince, Willow slammed the hand hovering over the circle into a tight, white-knuckled fist as if grabbing hold of something for dear life.

That's when he saw it.

Slowly, the outline of what appeared to be a skeleton faded into view. The white of the bones gradually grew brighter and more pronounced, while at the same time sinews, muscles and veins began to fill out the boney ribcage, arms, and legs. The watcher couldn't help but flinch at the grotesque sight before him. The skinless being sat on its knees, its arms raised up as if trying to cover its ears…lack of ears at least, slowly but surely, its body proceeded to fill out. Red pulpy organs began to fill out and pink lean muscle's came into view, growing darker as blood began to filter through the body. Blue veins gradually snaked their way throughout creating a complicated network of soft tubing. And finally, soft pale skin began covering the insides of its host. Although the newly formed skin was covering the majority of the red throbbing muscles, it skipped over some areas, leaving small gashes and marks that looked as if they were caused by sharp objects and fire. Giles readily raised the tranquilizer gun, aiming for the person's torso watching as the face became more human. Dark brown hair steadily grew from the girls head, falling just above her shoulders, pale pristine skin covered the rest of her face, revealing that the girl was clenching her eyes shut into a pained grimace, her hands balled into fists on either side of her head. Strangled and agonized whimpers escaped the slayers throat. Giles noticed at the last few moments of the ritual that dark angry bruises along with many laceration wounds marred the young girl's body in numerous places. One wound stuck out in particular, a brand, still leaking pus and blood, read in crimson letters the initials 'R.W.'.

"Dear lord…" Giles muttered, not quite able to take in the scene before him.

Willow stumbled back slightly in exhaustion and looked back at Giles with a tired triumphant smile before turning back to the kneeling girl before her. She looked no older then 16 or 17, her body was weak and thin from malnourishment. Mustering up the most friendly, non-threatening voice, possible Willow gingerly took a step forward.

"Hey….are you alright?"

The girls eyes shot open, quickly the girl winced away from the witch, making her way to a nearby corner, not even noticing her own nudity.

"B-bad…..b….bad…." The girl repeated the word over and over, shying into the corner, terror clouding the dark haired girls face.

"B-bad!...b-b-b-bad…."

Willow held her hands up showing she didn't have anything in them, and continued to advance slowly, trying to not show any aggression.

"We won't hurt you….your safe…do you have a name?"

The girl watched as Willow approached, her body shaking uncontrollably out of fear or pain, maybe even both.

"N-n-name….name name….n-name." The girl mumbled, beginning to rock back and forth in fetal position, her hands holding her knees close to her chest. Willow had finally gotten close enough to the girl and crouched down in front of her.

"It's ok…your safe. You don't need to be afraid. I'm Willow."

The girl stopped rocking and looked at the redhead with wide pained eyes.

"W-w-will…Willow…"

The witch nodded and smiled reassuringly

"Yeah, that's me. Do you have a name?"

The girl stared at Willow vacantly for a minute before looking down at her hands, watching as they shook violently.

"Th-the….d-dark….wh-where…..th-the dark…"

The broken girl buried her face in her shaking hands, muffling a pained cry. Willow slowly and cautiously pulled the girl into her arms, cradling her lithe figure as she cried out in pain. Willow turned to Giles, giving him another small, sad smile.

"Giles…could you get a blanket please?"

**A/N: Okay...another one that has just been bouncing around in my head for a while. I have almost all of it written out on paper i just need to quit being lazy and actually type it. This one will only be about 3 or 4 chapters long. Lemme know what you guys think.**

**A/N 2: New Mimic chapter will be up shortly! Have a nice evening people!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Look at Chapter 1.**

**Rating: T**

Chapter 1: Nameless

Faith Lehane leaned over the rail of the balcony breathing in the cold night air. It wouldn't take an idiot to tell you that she was deep in thought. A cigarette dangled loosely and untouched between her middle and index finger, slowly it burned to the filter without her even taking a drag.

"Razors pain ya... Rivers damp... Acid stains ya... Drugs cause cramps... Guns aren't lawful... Nooses give... Gas smells awful…you might as well live…" Faith flicked the cigarette over the edge, her face somber and uninterested. She repeated the same poem she had learned from her mother over and over in her mind, she wasn't suicidal in the least, but at times like this one, her mind kept wandering to those painful memories.

Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Kennedy, and a few other 'newbie scoobies' as Faith liked to call them were inside. It hadn't even been a full year and yet they had already set up base at the Hyperion hotel. Faith knew that most of them still weren't comfortable around her…still feared her even. So, she was in her own way sparing them the discomfort of her presence by staying outside. Taking her 'smoke break'…her masterful excuse.

The dark slayer chuckled bitterly and took her favorite switchblade out of her pocket; she began toying with it in her right hand.

"Ya might as well fuckin' live." She muttered under her breathe.

"Huh?"

Faith felt a pang in her chest as the familiar voice approached from behind her, she ignored it and went through her mental rolodex of innuendos in order to back up her usually cocky disposition. Truthfully, for the past months that Faith has spent with the scoobs she has been expecting them to tell her to leave, go back to prison, get out of their presence and the list of rejections goes on and on. Hell, she even still tenses up slightly whenever Buffy approaches her. Silently bracing herself for the blonde slayer to deck her a good one…finish what she had started so many years ago. The funny thing was Faith even sometimes hoped Buffy would hit her.

"What's up, B. Didn't know eavesdroppin was your game." Faith replied flatly as the blonde leaned over the balcony next to the dark haired girl. Faith rummaged through her jacket pocket and produced a wrinkled pack of cigarettes, before taking one herself she offered it to Buffy who just raised her eyebrow as Faith grinned at her. The brunette lit the tip of her cig and breathed in deeply allowing the smoke to fill her lungs.

"Faith…why aren't you ever inside? It freezing out here." The blonde asked, a small amount of concern showing in her words as she pulled her jacket tighter around her. Faith simply shrugged and took another long drag before answering.

"Well…you know me. Addictive personality an all. Just can't get enough of these puppies." Faith chuckled quietly, proud of herself for being able to pull the lie out of her ass so quickly. Buffy raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Faith…you do realize you're mouth twitches whenever you lie, right?" Faith looked at her as if to saying 'what the fuck?' before giving the blonde a halfhearted smirk.

"I knew you couldn't take your eyes off me blondie, now you're memorizin my face? I'm flattered." Faith stared nervously over the balcony trying to appear interested in the people walking below them. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Faith, why are you always out here?" Buffy asked again, placing a comforting hand on Faith's shoulder. The brunette flinched away from the hand and took a step back, almost missing the look of hurt that flashed over Buffy's face. Faith stared hard at the blonde, her eyes showing a mix of frustration, pleading and guilt.

"What do you want me to say, B? How bout I answer your question with a question of my own, huh? Why the fuck do you care? Out here, I'm not bothering you, I'm not breathin your air, I'm not hoggin your spotlight. I'm not doing _anything_ to piss you off. So why the fuck do you care? Think I'm plotting your downfall out here or somethin?" Faith finished her rant, angrily tossing another cigarette over the edge, hating the look of hurt in the blonde's eye. To the brunette's surprise her sister slayer didn't react in anger…Buffy spoke slowly and softly, almost shyly even.

"Faith…It's not like that. I'm just worrying about my friend…that's all, honest. I hardly see you at all, I'm just wondering if you're ok."

The dark slayer scoffed and lit up again. Speaking with the cigarette dangeling inbetween her teeth.

"We aren't friends, B. Never were. And as for you're 'worryin'? Just drop it aight? I'm five by five."

Buffy frowned at Faith and took a small step forward; Faith froze up slightly but stood her ground.

"That's just it Faith…we _aren't_ friends. Why? I thought we got past this."

Buffy took another step forward, Faith tensed up further not moving a muscle.

"Well B, I was a murdering, psychotic, fucked up kid who tried to off you and your friends…that's kinda hard to 'get past' as you put it."

"You're different now though Faith. Even I see it…even _they_ see it." Buffy pressed, taking another step towards the dark slayer, they were now only inches apart.

"You know what B? You suck at lying almost as much as I do." Faith drawled flatly, taking another drag from her cigarette.

"Why do you say that?"

Faith shrugged and flicked some ash off the tip of her cig.

"It's simple, B. I don't belong. Endo story. I'll always be that dark annoying little stain that pollutes yours and their lives. After what I did…there ain't no 'getting past', there isn't any forgiveness that I could or should ask for or expect from any of you. So, I stay out here. For your benefit _and_ mine. And when you _do_ need my help, I give ya a hand, then it's back out here, waiting for more orders. There, happy? Ya got your answers, blondie."

Faith tried to stifle a shaky breathe that was threatening to come out, covering it with another long drag from her cigarette. Buffy continued to look at her intently, studying the brunette's attempt to hide the troubled grimace reflecting in her soulful brown eyes. Before the blonde could say, anything the sound of the screen door sliding open broke the silence.

"Yo Buffy, Will's on the phone. She needs to talk to you?...Is this a bad time?" Both slayers turned to Kennedy, having mixed feelings of relief and annoyance at the intrusion.

"Nah…it's alright, Ken. Be there in a sec." The younger slayer nodded and shut the sliding door, bouncing back into the warmly lit room.

Buffy turned back to Faith who was currently staring at the night sky. Wordlessly, Buffy wrapped her arms around the younger girl and held her in a warm embrace, their slayer bond never felt stronger then it did at that moment.

"I forgave you a long time ago, Fai." Before Faith could even process what had happened Buffy planted a chaste kiss on the brunette's cheek, gave her a soft smile and pulled away heading back inside, leaving a stunned Faith on the balcony. The dark slayer raised her hand up to the spot on her cheek were Buffy had kissed her, the skin still tingling from the brief contact.

"There ain't no forgiveness for people like me, B." Faith mumbled sadly to herself. She turned back to the railing, playing what had just happened over in her head once again.

* * *

Willow sat across the table from the young slayer, watching as the girl fidgeted nervously with her newly acquired long sleeve shirt. At first when Willow and given the girl clothes, she had just looked at them mystified, unable to comprehend what the witch was trying to do. After a long while of coaching the newly freed slayer out from under a table, the redhead had finally managed to dress the frail girl.

"If they are uncomfortable we could try something different, if you'd like." Willow said softly. The girl winced slightly and twitched before slowly shaking her head no.

"D-different…f-feeling…." She mumbled in a small unsure voice.

"You're not used to clothes?" Willow asked gently. The girl simply nodded and brought a hand up to her neck, hooking her fingers around it and holding it there, while rocking slightly in her chair. Her eyebrows were knitted together in a nervous and scared scowl, at every small noise she jumped or flinched as if expecting a club to come down on her from somewhere.

"No one wants to hurt you here, sweetie. You can relax. You're safe finally." The slayer brought her knees up to her chest and twitched again, never making eye contact with Willow.

"Do you have a name?" Willow asked again, hoping she wasn't pressing the girl too hard for information. The girl shook her head no.

"We….d-didn't….have names…..d-dolls…didn't….get names."

Willow stared at the girl still intrigued.

"Dolls?"

The girl looked up at Willow and stared vacantly at the witch, her eyes darkened slightly with pain.

"Slaves…..t-torture….p-pain……" The girl stuttered, her face growing even more contorted with agony and fear. Willow slowly rose from her chair and rounded the table, placing a comforting arm over the trembling girl. The slayer flinched at the contact before slowly pulling away. Willow wasn't sure what she was doing till the girl lift her shirt up a little, revealing the angry red and black brand on her right shoulder blade.

"H-he….w-would laugh……." Was all the girl said before lowering her shirt again. Willow nodded sympathetically.

"I'm going to go get some stuff to clean that up ok?...Will you be ok in here for a couple minutes?"

The girl simply nodded, hugging her knees tighter to her chest.

"Ok…if you need anything just yell, ok?" The girl nodded again as the witch left the room.

Giles was waiting outside the door or the interrogation room silently greeting Willow with a nod as she came through.

"How is she?"

Willow sighed and shrugged bringing a hand to her forehead.

"I-I don't know Giles…She can talk more clearly now. Almost form sentences…But she's just…I don't know. She's scarred Giles. She doesn't have a name, doesn't know how old she is, has no idea who she is or if she has family. I don't know what to do."

Giles removed his glasses, quietly cleaning them as Willow paced around the room, watching the slayer in the other room cradle her head in fetal position through the two way mirror.

"We could find someone to talk to her."

Willow scoffed at first but then stopped her pacing as the idea sunk in.

"How about Angel? He was in a hell dimension…maybe even the same one as she was in."

Giles shook his head and made a face that looked as if he had bit into a lemon.

"No…well. Yes, I suppose…he could be of some assistance. But all the same, Angel is a vampire and was well over 2 centuries old when he went to one. His mental capabilities had years of development and strengthening before hand, giving him a better chance of coping with his experience. This girl can't be older then 18…it's a miracle her state of mind is as stable as it is now."

Willow's frown deepened. "So what do we do then? Theres got to be a way to help her Giles…"

The watcher sighed heavily.

"Call Angel…Buffy...and Faith. To help this girl we'll need someone who's been to a hell dimension…someone who's died…and someone who has lived in madness once before and recovered…That's our only choice right now. We need someone who can connect with her...one of them may be able too. If this is the case...we'll work from there."

Willow nodded and dug into her pocket for her cellphone.

**A/N: Woohoo! Finally done typing chapter 1...took forever, but it's done!Just for the record 'Dolls' has nothing to do with 'Dollhouse'. Hope you guys enjoyed, let me know what you think, and i will see you guys later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

**Rating: T**

Chapter 2: Angels and Demons

Faith drug her feet slowly up the fifth flight of stairs. No one wanted to room up on the top floor because it was drafty and 'spooky', so naturally Faith took a room on that floor. The dark slayer didn't know why she didn't bother using the elevator, something inside her just steered her towards the stairs. She welcomed the breif distraction that was climbing the old, barley used stairwell. Faith counted the steps she took as she anxiously waited to reach her room.

Much to her suprise, it didn't take long for the brunette to get used to the deafening silence and the occasional cold spot. She actually liked to think that there was an occasional ghost in there with her. It made the noises of laughing and cheeriness downstairs sting a little less to think that she had some outcast company of her own, it also gave her something to concentrate on when she couldn't find anything to do.

Faith had found out after about 2 months that Xander hadn't bothered to install cable in her room like he had the other scoobs. Again, the ex-con didn't pay much mind to the carpenter's passive aggressive neglect and simply took to reading whatever novels she could find within the rooms. Television usually bored the antsy slayer anyways; it wasn't a big loss to her.

Finally, after the 6th flight of stairs,the brunette reached her floor. Stepping out of the stairwell quietly she made her way down the hall to her room. Only stopping for a brief moment to kneel down and retrieve her key from under the mat.

"Home, sweet home." Faith mumbled into the silence as she passed through the threshold. The slayer instantly made her way over to the small fridge placed in the corner of her room and grabbed a beer out of it, popping the top with ease using only her thumb.

Before she could take a long gulp of the amber liquid a series of knocks broke the stillness of the room.

"It's open." The brunette called before taking her much needed drink. The door opened silently and in walked the blonde who she was talking to just 15 minutes before.

"Sup, B. Thought big red was on the line for ya." Faith drawled lazily, she knelt down and took another beer out of her fridge, tossing it to the blonde, who caught it gracefully.

"Thanks…" Buffy popped the top and took a sip grimacing at the bitter taste; Faith gave a small smirk seeing the blonde's reaction.

"She did call. Just got off the phone with her a few minutes ago…she needs us to go to Cleveland, we're leaving whenever you're ready."

Faith raised an eyebrow and took a swig.

'Great.' Faith thought sardonically. She really wasn't in the mood for teleporting right now...or ever for that matter. It always left her dizzy as hell...that and there was also the worry that something would go wrong like oh say…a vital organ being left behind…her appearing on the other side with her ass where her head should be...appearing in a completely diffrent place knowing no idea where the fuck she is...you get the picture.

"Wow…talk about skipping to the point, B. I'm impressed. So why the unexpected fieldtrip?" Buffy took a seat on a nearby chair and looked up at Faith, who was currently staring at the blonde waiting for an explanation.

"You uh….remember how Willow kept having those dreams?...The one with that girl being hurt?" Faith tried to stifle a bitter laugh but failed miserably.

"What? The blonde asked staring at the brunette with confusion. Faith gave a few more halfhearted chuckles before composing herself.

"Uh, B…The last thing Red said to me was 'Nest of vamps 2 blocks away, take care of it.'" Faith imitated Red's 'resolve face' flawlessly before continuing. "That was over 8 months ago…sooo..yeaahh B. Not too caught up on the Scooby gossip." Buffy just looked at the dark slayer for a minute, trying to remember any interaction between Faith and Willow that she could. Then the realization hit, she truly _hadn't_ seen the witch even so much as acknowledge Faith's presence since they had been there. No one except Kennedy, her and maybe a few of the new slayers really paid mind to the rogue slayer. In a soft voice, barley above a whisper the blonde spoke.

"I'm…really sorry Faith…I'll talk to her about that…" Faith scoffed and shrugged.

"Don't bother. I held a knife to the girl's throat. Kind of expected that I'd rub her the wrong way just being around here. So anyways, whats the what? What new big bad is shaking things up in Cleveland?" The younger slayer sat herself down on a couch across from Buffy and rested her booted feet on the coffee table in front of it, trying to appear relaxed in the blonde's presence. To Faith's surprise, Buffy got up from her seat on the chair and strode over to the couch, sitting next to Faith…a lot closer then the brunette expected. Their thighs brushed together causing small waves of electricity to flow through both of them. The contact caused feelings of both anxiety and excitement to course through the younger girl.

'_What is she thinking? Does she have any idea what she's doing to me?!'_

Faith was done with her whole 'denial' stage. Not that there really ever was one.It took her a long fucking time but after her first few months in prison, it hit her like a baseball bat to the head.

She was in love with Buffy Ann Summers, and always had been.

It wasn't the prospect of loving a girl that had initially bothered Faith. She had the occasional night with a random girl back in the day. It was the whole 'loving-a-girl-who-tried-gutting-her-like-a-fish-to-save-her-boyfriend' thing that Faith was stuck on.

The dark slayer did the only thing that she thought to be logical at the time….and tried to just drink herself into a state of ignorant bliss…However, her plan backfired, resulting in her moaning the words 'I lovveee B….B…B…..Buffy..looovvveee youu.' For the better part of 4 hours alone in her cell, while annoyed inmates screamed at her to 'shut the fuck up'.

Ever since her realization, things as small as a brief touch, a glance, even a smile directed at her from the small blonde had affected her, more then she thought possible.

Buffy noticed Faith's distant stare and waved a hand in front of the brunette's face.

"Faith?...Hellooo? You there?"

The dark slayer snapped out of her haze and blinked a few times before staring back at the blonde.

"Sorry bout that, B. Wicked tired lately. So…Cleveland, right. What kind of bad guys we talkin?"

Buffy shook her head, smiling softly.

'_So cute…'_

"No. No baddies this time around. Will just need our help with something… She's calling Angel in too."

Faith's head perked up at the sound of the vampire's name. "Really? Awsome, been wanting to catch up with Fang haven't seen him in a whi- Wait a fucking minute. Red…needs….MY help….She only comes to me if the words ending. Fuck, I knew it. I fucking knew it. She's rounding up the troops again. Fuck fuck fu-"

"Faith!" Buffy cut the brunette off through a fit of giggles.

"The world isn't ending. No bad apocalyptic mojo is registering on her witchy radar."

Faith sighed in relief and relaxed slightly. "Ok B, I'm confused as all hell. So, I will shut up and let you explain…hopefully my rodent-sized attention span will follow." Buffy smiled at Faith and nodded.

"Ok…well. Will has been having these…dreams for a while now. There was always this girl she saw getting hurt and well….guess they weren't really dreams, cause she did some spell and pulled a girl out of a hell dimension."

Faith stared at Buffy wide-eyed and eyebrow cocked, she gulped down the rest of her beer and took Buffy's, taking another deep drink.

"So…this girl…fresh out of a hell dimension…is kind of…well…"

"Insane." Faith finished for her. Buffy nodded.

"Will wants us…us being, you, me, and Angel. To talk to her and try to connect to her, so she can start to recover."

Faith drank more from Buffy's beer and stifled a burp. "Uh…so…did Red hit her head or something?"

Buffy looked questioningly at Faith and took her beer back playfully. Taking a drink, she tasted the faintest hint of Faith's lip gloss on the mouth of the bottle.

"I...dont...think so….why do you ask?"

Faith shrugged and leaned back into the couch.

"Well B, putting a once-murdering-ex con- psycho bitch in the same room with a near-insane former resident of hell isn't the best idea Red has ever had. Don't want the new kid ta catch the crazy, yunno?"

Buffy frowned and lightly smacked Faith in the arm. The brunette was about to say something about 'slayer abuse', but her words were caught in her throat as soon as she felt the same hand that hit her slide down her arm, and take her hand, lacing their fingers.

"Faith, the only reason why you went evil was because everyone was wrapped up in their own shit, and couldn't see that you were hurting…and well…Wesley was a little rat. But that's beside the point. We have a chance to stop the same thing from happening again by helping this girl. If we can talk to her and reach her…she may get better. So will you help…please? For me?"

Faith couldn't help but stare down at their joined hands; she felt her heart racing deep in her chest. The slayer bond was running wild, causing her body to hum and tingle, just from the blonde's hand in hers. Without realizing it, the brunette squeezed Buffy's hand lightly, looking up into the older girl's hazel eyes Faith nodded.

"Anything for you, B."

Buffy smiled and squeezed back. Faith could have sworn she felt her heart skip a beat at the gesture.

"Well…Let's go risk organ loss, waddyah say, blondie?" Buffy smiled at Faith as they stood up and made for the door. Neither letting go of the others hand.

* * *

Willow watched with an amused smile on her face as the girl prodded at one of her bandages, fascinated at the white cloth covering one of her wounds. Giles was the one who had originally attempted to disinfect the girls many injuries. This only led to the young slayer cowering in a far corner, going nowhere near the watcher.

The girl appeared to trust only Willow.

"Are you hungry at all? I could get you something to eat, if you'd like." The redhead asked softly. The girl looked up from her arm and at the redhead, shaking her head no.

"N-no….thank you." The girl tried to give Willow a small smile. Willow nodded and rose from her chair quietly, trying to avoid startling the young slayer with her movement. The witch felt a familiar presence enter the building just minutes ago.

"Listen…someone's here to talk to you….I promise they won't hurt you. Will you be ok to talk to someone else for a while?…This is just to help you. I swear."

The slayer stared up at Willow for a minute, studying the witches face. The redhead felt as if the girl was looking _through_ her with her dark green eyes, calculating the witch's intent. The brunette nodded silently.

"…ok."

Willow nodded again and exited the room. She hadn't gotten two steps in before she saw Angel walk into sight.

"Hello Willow." The familiar low voice greeted her from the shadows. Willow smiled and gave the vampire an awkward hug hello.

"Angel, thank you so much for coming."

The dark vampire nodded and pulled out of the hug. He walked over to the two-way mirror and stared intently at the brunette girl on the other side.

"So…Did Giles fill you in on what's happening?" The vampire nodded solemnly and continued to stare.

"Where's Faith and Buffy? It might be better for one of them to go in first."

Willow walked over to the mirror as well and watched as the slayer rested her head on the table.

"On their way right now. I think you'll be ok, she's still a little flinchy, but I think she can handle talking to you… Just keep your voice down….and maybe try…_not_ scowling when you look at her." Willow added lightly giving him a hopeful smile.

The dark vampire nodded and stalked past the witch towards the door.

"Thanks again, Angel."

He nodded again and quietly entered the interrogation room. The brunette's body went ridged as she felt the slayer inside her grow alert to the vampire's presence. Angel silently took a seat across the table from the brunette. The girl avoided eye contact completely.

"You know what I am." It was a statement rather then a question from the souled vampire. The slayer nodded, drawing her knees to her chest, Angel just nodded casually and leaned back.

"The thing inside you wants to kill me. Why aren't you acting on it?"

For the first time since Angel walked in, the girl looked up at the vampire with her piercing eyes.

"W-why…..aren't...y-you?" Angel gave a small smirk and leaned forward meeting the girls stare. For a brief moment, they both could see what was living deep inside the other. Angel could see the slayer itching beneath the surface of the girl, anxiously awaiting to kill the enemy in it's sights. The girl could see Angelus, lurking deep in the back of Angel's mind screaming at his alter ego to give into the thirst that all vampires craved.

"I'm a little…different then most vampires." Angel stated simply. The girl broke the deep stare and diverted her eyes back down to the table. She looked deep in thought for a moment before answering in a quiet voice.

"Y-you….h-haven't f-fed….on a human….recently."

Angel nodded again.

"You can smell it can't you." The girl nodded wrapping her arms tighter around her. Angel felt an odd kinship forming with the girl; he had been through what she was going through.

"I did the same thing…you focus on every other sense. Try to block out the pain by smelling the sulfur and smoke...listening to anything but the sound of your own skin being ripped from your body...seeing anything but the torture going on around you…at the same time you can feel everything becoming more…enhanced. You can see, smell, and hear things pretty well, can't you." The young girl nodded stiffly and looked back up at the dark vampire in front of her.

"I-it….s-stopped…working."

Angel leaned back again. He felt all the memories of his own torture flood back into his mind the burning, the beatings, the unbearable pain, everything. He looked at the girl sitting before him and felt unease chill his un-beating heart.

'_This girl is more broken then she's letting on.'_

In the next room, Willow watched the near-silent interaction through the mirror, praying that this will somehow help the slayer. Behind her, she heard Giles enter the room and take a seat.

"Faith and Buffy will be here any minute. Is Angel making any progress?"

The witch remained silent for a moment.

'_Is he? They are being so quiet...'_

Willow turned to the watcher, shaking her head in confusion. "I really don't know Giles. I think so…maybe. She's said a few words to him…that's about it though."

The former librarian shook his head and mumbled 'hmm, yes.' to himself, before cleaning his glasses.

"Her speech _has_ been slowly improving. That is something to be thankful for. Give her a bit more time and she may be more fluent, we cannot rush her Willow."

The witch nodded and turned her head back to the window, continuing to watch the silent conversation going on between the vampire and the slayer.

**A/N: Haha for once i wasn't a complete asshole to Fang...it is a twisted accomplishment i am proud of...cause i enjoy being an asshole to Angel and Riley . and putting them through endless shit in 99.9 precent of my stories.Hope you guys enjoyed and i will see you all later!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Im Soooooooooo sorry this took so long to update! . You all can to throw shoes and other blunt object at me for neglecting my stories.**

**Chapter 3: Some Things Never Change**

Faith took a deep breath and held it for a few moments before letting it draw out slowly. She had teleported only about 4 times before, each time ending exactly the same way. Her, doubled over, dry heaving till her throat stung and burned from bile and her head feeling several sizes too big as she fought off tunnel vision. All an all, teleporting for the ex-con was like having a pocket-hangover that lasted for about 10 minutes.

Faith took one last breath and worked up her nerve, trying to appear her usual 'Badass' self, so not to have B thinking she was going soft or was afraid of a little portal.

'_Suck it up Lehane. You've run head long into an army of uber-vamps before…this should be a cake walk._'

"You ready ta go, B?" Faith asked, turning to the shorter girl standing beside her. The small blonde nodded and gave Faith a reassuring smile.

"Yep. Xander and Dawnie are fine staying here and hanging out, so it'll just be you and me this time around."

The brunette nodded casually and stood back as Buffy chanted a few choice phrases Willow had given her over the phone. In an instant, a white swirling portal appeared. At first, it was only about the size of a dime, but quickly grew into a large opening for both girls to step through.

The younger slayer was getting ready for the pocket-hangover when she felt an unfamiliar tugging on her hand. She looked down to see Buffy's hands clamped tightly around her own. The brunette looked up to see the older girl smiling at her, a nervous glint in her eyes.

"Well…here's our ride."

Faith just nodded at the blonde and stepped forward into the swirling funnel, with Buffy right next to her, anxious to just get it over with. Faith clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth, trying to concentrate souly on the feeling of Buffy's hand holding hers. She felt the blonde give her hand a gentle squeeze, a silent reassurance that it would all be over quickly.

* * *

"What are you going to do if she doesn't recover?"

Giles jumped and turned abruptly to face a glaring Angel; the old vampire had finished talking to the slayer just moments before and crept back into the room without the watcher hearing him. Giles composed himself and turned back to the book he was looking through.

"I do wish you would make your presence known whilst entering the room." The former librarian sighed in annoyance, gently rubbing at his temple as if fighting off a migraine. Angel ignored the comment and slowly made his way around the room till he was facing the old watcher. The entire time his eyes boring into him.

"I just did. Now answer the question."

Giles gave another aggravated sigh and shut his book before meeting Angel's accusing stare. The vampire felt the familiar bitter taste of disgust on the back of his tongue at what he saw. Without the watcher even having to say a word, he already knew what the answer would be.

"I'm not quite sure of that yet. With her current state, it is hard to say really, she is not violent or feral but we aren't positive if it will remain as such…If she continues to show no signs of aggression we will attempt to rehabilitate her."

Angel's eye narrowed and his jaw tightened.

"What if you can't? What if she stays this way? What then?" the vampire's voice was barley above a growl. Giles grit his teeth in frustration and stood up from his chair. Today was already wearing the old librarian thin and the stress alone from opening a hell dimension was enough worry for the entire week. Angel's suspicious glares easily crawled under the watchers skin and pushed him ever closer to his breaking point.

"I was quite clear the first time I said it. I'm. Not. Sure. Yet."

Giles sounded more like Ripper at this point, his words were low and menacing as he returned the vampires dark stare. Angel gave a raspy chuckle and smirked bitterly at the watcher.

"Why? Because she won't be of any use to your new 'council'? She's too damaged to keep around, so might as well clean out the trash, right? Anything to keep from getting your hands dirty." The souled vampire drawled evenly, every word dripped venomous sarcasm. The watchers face hardened as he figured out where Angel's sudden accusatory disposition was coming from.

The old council had been very cut and dry. If a slayer was rogue or uncontrollable she would have been taken back to England, retrained and assigned a new watcher. If the rehabilitation was not successful and the slayer was rendered useless or dangerous…a new slayer would have had to be called, and the girl would have been done away with in a quiet manner.

Giles mind drifted a few years back to when the council came to retrieve Faith, to when Angel attempted to help her but was unsuccessful due to the council's actions. He shuddered to think what the corrupt bastards had planned for her. Since there was already Buffy he guessed they wouldn't bother wasting time to retrain the once rogue slayer and would simply have… done away with the unstable girl…after treating her as one of their guinea pigs, that is.

'_They were probably foaming at the mouth at the thought of an extra slayer…one could serve as the chosen one, and one to poke and prod at under a microscope like a twisted science experiment.'_

Giles shook the feeling of utter disgust away before sitting back down, his hard glare fading into a look of determination and honesty. In a cool and collected voice, the watchers spoke his next words slowly hoping to assure the dark vampire before him.

"She will not be treated as a broken object. The council I once served saw slayers as weapons rather then people. The council _I_ am now in charge of however will see every slayer as a person with a great calling. She will be no different. I will see to that personally."

Angel continued to stare coldly at the watcher for a few more moments, studying his face for any sign of lying before taking a seat himself, satisfied with the watchers answer.

"Has she told you anything new?"

Angel simply shook his head and turned his head to the door as Willow stepped through with two familiar faces following.

"Fffuck…..B….why can't we take the greyhound like normal people?" Faith wheezed holding her forehead with one hand while the blonde had the other over her shoulder, attempting to hold the younger girl upright. Buffy let out an amused chuckle and helped her counterpart onto a nearby chair.

"Because the greyhound is too expensive, I hate flying, and this way is just a lot quicker…oh yeah, and we are the _farthest _thing from normal…so this is actually the logical traveling method for us, if you think about it." The older slayer stated in a matter of fact tone of voice. Faith snorted.

"Logical my ass. Just you wait, one of these days we are gonna walk through one of those fuckers and end up in Tijuana."

Buffy laughed at Faith's quiet outburst.

"Yeah, and I'm sure you'll be the one to say 'I told you so'."

"Bet your ass I will be."

Both slayers smiled at one another, amused at their friendly banter before looking around the room, finally noticing who all was occupying the small space.

"Fang!! Whats up man, haven't seen ya since the last post-end of the world get together." Faith piped up at seeing Angel. The slayer got to her feet and high-fived the old vamp, who surprised everyone when he pulled Faith into firm hug. Buffy felt jealousy flair up in her chest at the sight but was comforted to see the look of obvious discomfort etched on Faith's face.

"Uh…heh, Fang? Hasn't been _that_ long. Not sure a year away is hug-worthy." Angel pulled away embarrassedly and gave the dark slayer a smile.

"Just good to see you, Faith. How's the Hyperion holding up?"

"She's lookin' pretty good. Might have ta hire a few maids though. The newbies are definitely leavin' marks." Angel chuckled.

"It's good to know L.A is still protected when I'm out of the country."

Faith smirked and playfully punched the vampire in the arm.

"I'm just followin' the pack. Thank B and the newbies for the whole 'protecting' deal."

Angel turned to the blonde slayer, acknowledging her for the first time.

"Buffy. How are you?"

Buffy shrugged and gave Angel a small smile before pulling him into a friendly hug. It was Faith's turn to feel her jealousy flare.

"It's good to see you." Buffy said, pulling out of the embrace.

"Good to see you too."

Willow stepped up and cleared her throat nervously. Embarrassed to interrupt the brief reunion.

"I-uh….hate to cut this short guys, but…we um…kinda have a job to do."

Willow pointed to the two-way mirror that separated them from the girl in the next room.

"I've already spoken to her. There's not much I can do right now, she doesn't trust me. Maybe one of you could get more out of her." Angel stated evenly.

Faith strode over for a closer look, staring intently at the young slayer in the dimly lit room. The dark haired girl rested her head languidly on the metal table, her thin arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her back moved evenly with each deep breath she took.

"Kid looks tired Red, maybe should let her catch some sleep. Might do her some good."

Willow shot Faith a condescending smirk.

"Right. Since you know everything there is to know about someone's health and well being." Willow drawled sarcastically.

"Will-"

"Nah, it's alright, B. If Red wants to keep the kid up all night, fine. I ain't gonna lose sleep if the girl dies of exhaustion."

Faith glanced over at Willow, the witches eyes flashed with hostility.

"Of course you wouldn't." Willow responded coldly. Faith just smiled sweetly.

"You're absolutely right. Cause it'd be on _your_ hands. Not mine."

Willow took a step closer to the slayer, vainly attempting to size her up. Faith met the witches hostile glare and smirked darkly.

'_Now I remember why I like staying outside.'_ The dark slayer thought cynically.

Buffy noticed Willow clenching and unclenching her jaw and Faith's body stiffen. One of them had to leave the room, or something bad would happen. In an attempt to calm the situation and stop any possible violence, Buffy stepped in between the two. The blonde turned to Faith, subconsciously placing a hand on the younger girl's arm.

"Faith…Why don't you go meet her. Talk to her a bit."

"No. She shouldn't go near that girl. She'll just make it worse. This was a bad idea." Willow spat venomously. Buffy turned to her friend, giving the redhead a warning glare.

"No. She won't." The blonde replied evenly, attempting to mask her growing contempt for the way her friend was treating Faith.

"Maybe she's right, B. Like I said. Don't want her to catch the crazy."

"Finally, a logical idea from you. I'm impressed, Faith."

"Fuck you, Red."

Buffy huffed in exasperation and pushed the two girls farther away from each other. The blonde was quickly growing tired of playing mediator.

"Both of you STOP IT. NOW. Faith, you need to talk to the girl. I need to have a word with, Will. Please, just do this; we could really use your help."

Buffy stared pleadingly at the younger slayer, ignoring the disbelieving snort from her best friend. Faith glanced between Buffy and Willow a few times before nodding silently.

"Sure…..whatever, B."

'_Always siding with the besty. Some things will never change.'_

Wordlessly, Faith made her way to the door, wrenching it open violently, leaving finger-shaped dents on the doorknob. Buffy watched the brunette angrily exit the room.

'_She thinks she was cast away again…god dammnit, Will.'_

When the door to the interrogation room was shut all the way Buffy abruptly turned to the redhead, her face stern and humorless.

"We need to talk."

Buffy took Willow by the arm and lead her out of the room quickly, hoping she didn't look as angry as she felt.

Giles and Angel glanced awkwardly at each other.

"Well….that was quite….Interesting." Giles mumbled confusedly, removing his glasses to clean them. Angel smirked knowingly.

"Yes. It was."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS**

**Rating: T**

**Chapter 5 Part 1:** **Hiding Much More then Pain**

The door to the interrogation room closed with a muffled 'thud', giving Faith and the younger slayer the illusion of privacy. Still, the dark slayer felt eyes on her and guessed either Angel or Giles was watching through the two-way mirror.

_'Great….an audience.'_ Faith thought dryly, pulling up a chair. The girl had already lifted her head and was watching the older slayer intently.

"Uh….Hey, I'm Faith." Faith said awkwardly, taking a seat. The girl stared blankly at Faith for a moment, studying the brunette's features. Faith glanced uncomfortably between the girl and the mirror, expecting to see Angel there to help walk her through this. Sadly, she just saw her own reflection staring back at her.

"Hello…" The younger girl mumbled, her voice weak, laced with exhaustion. Faith grimaced inwardly as she looked the girl over.

_'What had she done to deserve this?...She should be in high school, worrying about geometry tests or some shit like that….not in a hell dimension, being tortured and beaten daily.'_

"So uh…..you got a name?" Faith asked, trying to keep the conversation light. The girl shook her head slowly from side to side.

"If I did…..I don't remember it…"

"How'd you forget?" Faith wondered aloud, genuinely confused. The girl shrugged tiredly.

"They….had a process….cleansing, they called it…..made us forget. " The slayer mumbled lowly, as if in a trance as she remembered. Her dark green eyes clouded over with pain.

Faith leaned back in her chair, trying to ignore the anger that gnawed away at her insides. She felt the familiar urge stir deep inside her, the want, the need, to make the bastards who had done this to this kid pay ten-fold.

Faith was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of a stifled grunt of pain. She looked up to see the girl pushing back the sleeve of her shirt, revealing a bandaged arm. The once white cloth was now soaked through with blood. The girl stifled another yelp of pain as she ripped, the now useless bandages, from her skin.

'Shit, she needs to get patched up again.'

Faith glanced around the room till her eyes fell on Willow's first aid kit that she had left behind. Faith stood from her chair and dragged it over beside the girl's, grabbing the first aid kit in the process.

"Here, let's get you fixed up again. Sound good?"

The girl nodded weakly, allowing Faith to gently disinfect and re-bandage her raw wounds.

"God Damn, kid…..you're tougher then you look."

Faith muttered in awe as she took a closer look at some of the deeper wounds. The girl gave a strangled chuckle, biting back another pained yelp.

"It's not….being tough...hiding the pain……it's being…stubborn." The young slayer clenched her eyes shut as Faith gently dabbed away at her wounds.

Faith smirked.

"Yeah….So I've been told."

"By...who?"

Faith stopped and glanced at the mirror, feeling paranoia wash over her. She turned back to what she was doing and sighed heavily.

"Someone I'm trying to hide more than just pain from. That's for damn sure."

**TBC**

**A/N: Sorry for the short update x.x I'll have part 2 up as soon as possible.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS**

**Rating: T**

**Chapter 5 part 2: To Allow Myself to Feel**

"Wh-why did they send….. a vampire in here… to talk to me…?"

The girl asked in a shaky voice. Faith looked up briefly and shrugged.

"Fang? He went to a hell dimension, too. Red thought you guys could do that whole 'bonding' thing cause you both could relate or something. Hold still for sec, this is gonna hurt-"

Without any more warning, Faith sharply pulled at one of the slayer's wounds on her lower back. The girl didn't even bother trying to muffle the agonized yelp.

"Sorry about that." Faith mumbled sympathetically. The girl simply nodded, still grimacing in pain.

Faith held up a small, jagged piece of metal so the girl could see it.

"Don't know how Red missed that." Faith frowned, tossing the bit of metal to the other side of the room, it made a small 'ping' as it hit the tile.

"Red?...Fang?" The girl wondered out loud. Faith smirked.

"I'm not too formal.…..Just you wait. You'll a nickname soon too."

"…..Thanks…" The girl mumbled. Faith raised an eyebrow in confusion

"For what?"

"You're not….treating me like…..I'm some kid….who's gonna snap at any minute. Everyone's so….c-cautious around me..."

"Yeah….I know the feeling." Faith mumbled.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, only broken when the girl would grunt or wince in pain. Faith couldn't help but enjoy the company of the kid. No prying questions, no condescending glares, no offhand comments or fearful glances. This kid hasn't yet learned of what sort of monster Faith used to be.

'_But Red will soon fix that.'_ Faith thought bitterly.

The girl's head tilted to the side wall awkwardly for a second before straightening back up again. Faith glanced at the wall then back at the girl, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

"What the hell was that?"Faith mumbled with a chuckle.

"Do you know….a girl named….. Buffy?"

Faith felt the familiar rustling in her heart that she got whenever the blonde slayer's name was mentioned.

"Uhh…..blonde hair, green eyes….short enough to be mistaken for an elf?" It was the girls turn to give Faith a weird look.

"Um…I don't know……what she would look like."

"Then how do you know B?...er…Buffy."

"Theres two people…..yelling….in the next room" The slayer motioned her head to the side wall in emphasis before finishing. "One is the witch….Willow...the other is a very angry girl…..the witch calls her 'Buff' or 'Buffy'."

Faith raised her eyebrows and attempted to tune in as well, tapping into her slayer hearing. Indeed she heard muffled voices in the next room, but could make no words out. She turned back to the girl and smirked.

"It's not really good ta listen in kid. People get kinda pissed about that here."

"Can't help it….they are really loud……keep mentioning your name."

The girl glanced at Faith for a moment, her eyes studying the older slayer's before looking back at the table.

"How can you hear them? I barley can, how are you able to?"

The girl gave another small shrug "Long story."

Faith simply nodded, understanding the kid wasn't too eager to tell it.

"So….what are they saying?"

The girl tilted her head again to hear better, her face scrunched up as she concentrated.

"Fighting…..the witch _really_ doesn't like you…."

Faith laughed in amusement.

"I coulda told ya that, kid. What about B?"

The slayer tilted her head further and began repeating the words the best she could. Her speaking still flawed by the occasional stutter or long pause.

"_**She's changed**_….._People like her can't change, Buffy_……**_She has, she's been trying harder then all of us to do good and you just keep shooting her down_**……_Buffy, she killed someone_." The girl shot a questioning look at Faith before continuing to cite the argument in a low emotionless voice. As if reading aloud from a boring storybook.

"**_So have you, Will_**……_Do not compare me to he_……the Buffy girl is really…..defending you….." The young brunette commented. Faith cocked an eyebrow.

"That's a first." The dark slayer muttered. The girl turned so she was facing Faith, her eyes studying the older slayer. Faith had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.

"You and……the witch….you've killed before." The girl said it more as a statement rather than a question. Faith sighed heavily, diverting her eyes to the floor.

'_Moment of truth…'_

"Yep…." The dark slayer muttered, expecting the kid to cower in fear or flinch away from her. To her surprise, there were no screams for help or wails of terror. The painful confession was met by the same comfortable silence they had been sharing for the past half hour.

Faith looked back up to measure the girl's reaction. To her amazement the kid just nodded, completely unfazed.

"So uh…..what else?" Faith asked cautiously, still expecting the slayer to freak out about being in the presence of a killer.

"Um….I think the witch…is crying…I can't really understand her….the other girl just mumbled something……the witch is asking '_Why her? How her?_'….._I thought you loved Spike_…..**_No Will, it's been her for a while now_**…."

Faith felt her heart jump as she listened. For once she delved in the glimmer of hope she tried to completely ignore.

"I can't hear the anymore….I think one of them left the room…."

The two sat silently for a moment, waiting.

Sure enough, within moments the door to the room burst open as an angry Willow stormed in. She smiled softly at the younger slayer briefly before shooting a cold glare Faith's way.

"Thanks for your _help_ Faith. I'll finish up." Willow muttered sourly, indicating the bandages Faith held in her hands. The dark slayer gave a small nod, standing up slowly.

"I'll see ya around, kid. Rest up a bit, k?"

The girl nodded, and amazingly enough, gave the older slayer a small smile. The first she had given since being freed.

Faith returned the smile and awkwardly strode over to Willow, dropping the bandages and antiseptic into Willow's waiting hand. The dark slayer studied the witches face, noticing her eyes were still damp with tears.

"Where's B?" Faith asked, her voice cool and tense

Willow suddenly found the floor very interesting. The ex-con didn't miss the look of guilt that washed over the redheads face.

"She's…..in the other room."

Faith stared suspiciously at the witch and tapped into her slayer hearing again. With the door to the interrogation room open she could hear things outside a lot clearer, making it so she could just barely hear the faint sounds of someone crying in the next room.

"Is she ok?"

The witch nodded stiffly, still not looking Faith in the eye. Faith felt anger flare up in her.

"You're lying"

Willow's body tensed up at the harsh tone of Faith's voice.

"We just argued a little. It's none of you're business Faith." Willow muttered in annoyance. Faith narrowed her eyes menacingly at the witch.

'_And she calls you her friend you ungrateful bitch.' _Faith thought angrily.

"Red...You make her cry again, or make her hurt in anyway...I _will_ give you a reason to be afraid of me. You can give me shit all you want, I don't give a fuck. But I won't sit by and watch you make thing's hard on her when she hasn't done shit to deserve it."

With that, Faith left the room, closing the door behind her.

Willow quickly covered up the shock from the slayers threat and glanced up at the young brunette, embarrassed that she had witnessed the brief encounter.

"Sorry about that…" The witch mumbled, giving the girl another soft, friendly smile. The slayer just nodded tiredly, resting her head on the table. Sleep was quickly overtaking the girl's senses.

* * *

Buffy sat against the wall of one of the smaller rooms. She wiped away another stray tear with the sleeve of her shirt before leaning her head back against the cool, smooth cement.

"Why can't things ever be simple?" She muttered into the empty room. The blonde closed her eyes tight and wished the last 'conversation' she had with Will was just a hallucination.

'She knows…' Buffy thought dreadfully. Fresh tears slid down her cheeks, despite her eyes being closed.

"She knows….I told her…" Buffy said aloud to herself, not quite believing she had finally told Willow about her secret love for a certain slayer.

Buffy heard the door to the room open briefly and close. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who it is, the strong connection of their bond was enough. That familiar, comforting tingle gave Buffy a small sense of peace, despite still feeling like crap.

Faith silently walked over so she was standing over the small blonde, wordlessly taking a seat on the floor next to her. Buffy opened her eyes and saw the younger girl watching her with worried, caring eyes. The blonde gave Faith a small smile, a few more tears steadily slid down her cheeks.

Faith reached up and gently brushed the droplets away with her thumb. Faith felt a familiar sense of anger and helplessness, seeing one of the few people she cared about hurting hurt her, thinking she was helpless to do anything about it killed her.

Without thinking, Buffy leaned forward, burrowing her face into Faith's shoulder. To the blonde's surprise, Faith didn't push her away or stiffen up; she wrapped her arm securely around the small blonde, pulling her closer.

"B it's ok…..she's your best friend, she'll get over whatever she's pissed at and you two will be cool again."

Buffy nodded into Faith's shoulder.

"I know. It just makes me so angry sometimes. She acts like you haven't changed at all."

Faith rolled her eyes.

"B, don't fight about that shit. I told you, she has a damn good reason to hate me. It's not like I lose sleep over her not wanting to invite me to brunch or whatever the fuck you guys do. I'm not worth losing a friend over." Faith mumbled the last part, knowing it was true. The younger girl felt the small blonde lean closer against her side.

"You're worth a lot more then you think, Faith." Buffy said softly. Faith pretended to look deep in thought for a moment before nodding.

"yeah your right…..I'm at least worth an Xbox360…."

Buffy laughed and leaned up so she could look Faith in the eyes.

Faith felt her heart flutter as she looked deeply into the soft green eyes staring up at her. Buffy's gaze was filled with something the dark slayer hadn't seen directed towards her before. It was beautiful, sweet, making her feel special and nervous at the same time, everything around them didn't seem important in the least. Faith didn't even consider this feeling to be love…until Buffy leaned up, their lips were only a few centimeters away now. Faith felt the blonde's sweet, cool breathe hit her face in short puffs of air.

Faith gently brushed some hair out of Buffy's face, feeling her heart stop for a second seeing the look of pure adoration in the blonde's eyes. Faith knew her own eyes were giving away the love she'd been trying to hide for so long. Throwing any and all caution to the wind, Faith slowly started to close the distance between them.

**TBC**

**A/N (With a guest appearance from Faith):**

**Faith:(Dramatic Narrator Voice)_ WIll OUR HEROS FINALLY ADMIT THEIR FEELINGS? WILL WILLOW LOSE THE STICK UP HER ASS? WILL THE MYSTERY OF THE BRAND 'R.W.' BE REVEALED?! FIND OUT IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT!!_**

**ToryV: Ooookay then...thank you for that..interesting little number.**

**Faith: Thats what I'm here for P**

**ToryV: Okay anyways...because this story only has about 1 chapter left (maybe an epilogue if you guys want) I was thinking about having a contest-type-thing...just for amusement .. It's simple, whoever guesses what 'R.W.' means correctly before i post the next chapter, can request what the next oneshot i write will be about. (Hint: It's a Character from the series)**

**Faith:...That's wicked lame...**

**ToryV: Meh! I'm broke and have no cash for shiney prettyful prizes! Do not mock me woman!**

**Faith: Pft.**

**ToryV: So, guess right in either a PM or Reveiw and you can choose what the next short i write will be about. It can be any shipping, any genre, any senario, any amount of weirdness. All up to you. **

**Faith(calls from the back): Make it something kinky!**

**ToryV: Ignore that O.O**


End file.
